MarcGopin.com

From Fox Five News today.  See the film clip.

via Clinton Opens New Round of Mideast Peace Talks

WASHINGTON – Marc Gopin from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University joined us with more.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally opened the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years on Thursday, imploring the parties to ignore the long history of failed negotiations and make needed compromises to forge an agreement.

At a ceremony in the State Department’s ornate Benjamin Franklin room, Clinton said the Obama administration was committed to forging a settlement in a year’s time. But, she stressed that the heavy lifting must be done by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“We will be an active and sustained partner,” she said. “But we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

Netanyahu and Abbas pledged their seriousness to securing an agreement and overcoming decades of mutual hostility and suspicion.

“This will not be easy,” Netanyahu said. “True peace, a lasting peace, will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides.”

“We do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we face during these negotiations — negotiations that within a year should result in an agreement that will bring peace,” Abbas said.

Abbas called on Israel to end Jewish settlements in the West Bank and other areas that the Palestinians want to be part off their own state. Netanyahu insisted that any agreement must assure Israel’s security.

Thursday’s negotiations are the first since the last effort broke down in December 2008 and are fraught with complications, including recent violence in the West Bank and Israeli settlement activity. Expectations are low and U.S. officials have said success may be only an agreement to hold a second round of negotiations.

Officials say they are hoping to arrange that meeting for Sept. 15 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik and top aides to the leaders are expected to meet later Thursday to iron out final details of the next step.

Sitting at the top of a U-shaped table between Netanyahu and Abbas, Clinton congratulated the two for agreeing to resume negotiations but warned of difficult days to come in the effort to create an independent Palestinian state.

“I know the decision to sit at this table was not easy,” Clinton added. “We understand the suspicion and skepticism that so many feel borne out of years of conflict and frustrated hopes.”

She noted two recent attacks on Israelis in the West Bank claimed by the militant Hamas movement underscored the difficulties facing the two leaders.

“But, by being here today, you each have taken an important set toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create.”

Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli residents of a West Bank settlement on Tuesday as Netanyahu, Abbas and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan convened in Washington. And on Wednesday, hours before the leaders ate dinner at the White House, Hamas gunmen wounded two Israelis as they drove in their car in another part of the West Bank.

The talks will face their first test within weeks, at the end of September, when the Israeli government’s declared slowdown in settlement construction is slated to end.

Palestinians have said that a renewal of settlement construction will torpedo the talks. The Israeli government is divided over the future of the slowdown, and a decision to extend it could split Netanyahu’s hawkish coalition. Netanyahu has given no indication so far that it will continue beyond the deadline.

Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke off nearly two years ago, in December 2008, and the Obama administration spent its first 20 months in office coaxing the two sides back to the bargaining table. Despite the success in launching the talks, gaps between the sides are wide, distrust remains after years of violence and deadlock, and expectations are low.

After listening to the Mideast leaders he convened Wednesday night, Obama pronounced himself carefully optimistic. “I am hopeful, cautiously hopeful, but hopeful,” he said.

Thanks to Rabbi Gershon Steinberg for alerting me to the amazing gesture of Jews led by rabbis (Velveteen Rabbi) to an abused mosque in Queens, New York. It is wonderful to feel proud of my fellow Jews.

Last week, a drunk man barged into the Al-Iman masjid in Astoria, Queens, and urinated on the prayer rugs. I tweeted about it, horrified at this display of Islamophobia (and also just plain atrocious behavior.) On Thursday, @stumark suggested that we raise money to replace the prayer rugs at the Al-Iman mosque in Queens. On Friday, I posted to this blog and to twitter asking for donations toward reimbursing the mosque for the costs of steam-cleaning their prayer rugs. My hope was to raise a few hundred bucks as a gesture of interfaith good will, a way of showing this one Muslim community that the actions of that drunk man do not represent the beliefs of most Americans.

Over the course of two days, more than a thousand US dollars poured in to my bank account. I decided to stop the fundraising when we passed the $1000 threshold, and posted to twitter saying that we’d reached our goal and could stop now; a few more donations rolled in while I was announcing that we’d raised enough, so our total is $1,150.

One thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars were donated by sixty-three people from across the United States; those who identified their locations mentioned places as far apart as Oregon, New York, and Oklahoma, and I myself live in a small town in western Massachusetts. We are people of many traditions; although Stu Mark and I are Jewish, and I know that at least two of the donors are rabbis (and many donors self-identified themselves as Jews), others self-identified as Christian (Catholic, Protestant, evangelical), Pagan, and Muslim.

The first handful of donors were people I know personally, either offline or through sustained online interaction, but within an hour of making the initial announcement I started getting donations from people whose names I had never seen before. Many who donated included notes saying things like “thank you for giving me something I can do” and “please tell the mosque that that man does not represent me.”

As donations and notes of good will poured in, and as I listened to radio coverage of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I remembered sitting in my living room with friends five years ago as the scope of that disaster began to emerge. And I remembered the Katrina People Finder project, and the amazing outpouring of volunteer labor at that awful moment in time. What we learned then, and what I’ve been reminded of now, is that most people want to make things better; what we need is an opportunity to join together. And thanks to the internet, joining together to make the world a better place has never been easier than it is today.

I’m working on figuring out to whose attention I should send the letter and check, and will put them in the mail tomorrow. For now, I’m sitting back and marveling at the awesome things we can accomplish when we pull together. We raised $1,150 over the course of 48 hours, mostly in $5, $10, $18 and $20 increments. A few people mentioned being low-income; many people said they wished they could give more. But small donations add up, and there’s something incredibly moving for me in the fact that we raised over a thousand dollars in one weekend in this way. I hope we’ve been able to show our Muslim friends and neighbors (offline and online) that despite the recent rise in Islamophobia, those who are preaching fear and hatred do not represent all of us.

To all who donated, and all who spread the word via emails, twitter, blogs, facebook, livejournal: thank you so much. To all who are finding this post now and wish you’d had a chance to donate, please take five minutes and make a donation to another cause which matters to you. (If you’re looking for suggestions, you might consider relief efforts in Pakistan, or New Ground: a Jewish-Muslim partnership for change, or the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for peace in the Middle East.)

Wishing everyone blessings as this lunar month — Elul on the Jewish calendar, Ramadan on the Muslim calendar — draws toward its close. (And now it’s time for me to return to planning for High Holiday services!)

via Velveteen Rabbi: A gesture of repair.

Lest anyone doubt the direction and agenda of the Christian right, here is a clear statement of approval of John Jay that only Christians should rule the United States. So how could Jews with any sense of their own safety and security promote this extremism, welcome Christian extremists to Israel and take their funds for the settlements? Because the Israelis who take the money and support put their interests above those of American Jews, they don’t think American Jews should be living in America anyway they should be in Israel, they calculate that the threat against them from Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims is more immediate than the the chance that radical Christians could one day take over the American government.

Of course, this entire way of thinking is very misguided. It never pays to think this selfishly, it always comes back on your head. Better to think in terms of justice and liberty for all, the true American way.

Editor’s note: Robert Knight is a senior writer for the evangelical Coral Ridge Ministries and a senior fellow for the conservative American Civil Rights Union. He helped draft the “Defense of Marriage Act,” the 1996 law in which the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, and is the author of “Fighting for America’s Soul: How Sweeping Change Threatens Our Nation and What We Must Do.”

(CNN) –

John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, wrote in a letter to a friend, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

via U.S. was born a Christian nation – CNN.com.

To anyone who knows Jewish life, or Israeli life well, this is laughable in its ‘fringiness’. This is not a serious trend. That having been said, it raises many red flags for me. There is a consistent multi-decade trend for Orthodox Jewry, as well as Israeli Jewish life in general, to descend deeper and deeper into its own peculiar expression, in other words, to spurn universal values and to re-surface peculiar and unique, often extremely reactionary trends and customs.

This joins a global pattern of indigenous re-discovery of uniqueness in a post-colonial and post-Cold War Age. But not all that is indigenous is good, and in fact much is awful. In fact the entire reason that otherwise patriotic Europeans of all nationalities came up with transnational, or universal values, is because they were disgusted by just how low and racist societies can become if all they ever think about, if their only arbiter of value is ‘what is ours and no one else’s’.

Welcome to the thirty nine lashes, a tradition so Jewish that there is a full volume of the Talmud on it, a volume that has been dutifully and enthusiastically studied for thousands of years, along with all the other volumes. I myself spent an entire summer on it in my youth.

So Jews, and everyone else, have to make decisions about all their indigenous peculiarities, all their ethno-national weirdeness, all their religious ‘treasures’. What stays and what goes? And what is to stop all of their treasures to emerge as dominant if the liberal, secular, shares state is not the sole form of governance in all states of the world.

That is why I am convinced we are living on ‘borrowed Enlightenment time’. We are launching headlong into ethno-national and religious revivals that are chipping away at the universal model of social contract and shared society offered by the Enlightenment. We had better get our act together as global citizens and citizens of our respective states, unless of course we want to look forward to being tortured righteously with blessings for singing in front of men and women.

Let me just state for the record that I am very proud of Jewish rabbinic tradition, for its countless bits of wisdom, for its amazing insights into human nature, for its bold and highly advanced engagement with social justice for the poor which, if followed, may be preventing much of the violence and degradation of the globe today.

So why share dirty laundry? Why cast aspersions on a whole tractate of Talmud, which after all, is also filled with much wisdom? A. Because Jewish life in Israel is truly in danger. This malignant hatred of universal values, all things goyish, by some segments of the population–and not just religious Jews–will bring sorrow not only on Palestinians but on Jews themselves. They will split apart into a thousand pieces just like what happened the last time they tried to govern 2000 years ago. Universal values are essential to any and every social contract. B. because I want to provide a model of penetrating self-examination. How can we dare critique other cultures and religions without facing our own.

Sinner’ singer given 39 lashes by rabbis

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

08/27/2010 02:45

Punishment for performance in front of “mixed audience.”

Talkbacks (95)

A singer who performed in front of a “mixed audience” of men and women was lashed 39 times to make him “repent,” after a ruling by a self-described rabbinic court on Wednesday.

Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak, founder of the Shofar organization aimed at bringing Jews “back to religion” (hazara betshuva), has made it his recent mission to fight against musical performances for both men and women.

His “judicial panel,” with Rabbi Ben Zion Mutsafi and another member, sentenced Erez Yechiel to 39 lashes in order to “rid him of his sins.”

In a video clip of the court posted on the Shofar Web site, Ben Zion said that those who make others sin (mahtiei rabim), such as artists who make men and women attend performances or dance together, have no place in the world to come.

He displayed a leather strip he said was made by his father from ass and bull skin, with which Yechiel was to have been whipped.

Yechiel, who said, “I accept upon myself the lashing for my sins,” was ordered to stand by a wooden poll with his head facing north (“from whence the evil inclination comes”), his hands tied with a azure-colored rope (“a symbol of mercy”), and served his “sentence.”

via ‘Sinner’ singer given 39 lashes by rabbis.

The money trail is always critical to know coming trends in ‘popular’ American movements. This is an excellent article tracing what is happening now, and also its old American pedigree.

I would also add that the tens of thousands on the Mall were all white, the smears of President Obama are all about him being black. The anti-mosque rallies, also financed by the same people, are also against people of color.

We have entered yet another cycle of American white racism. This time, post-1960′s, it is necessarily less direct. After all, at least for now, the ugliest expressions of white racism are all officially illegal. And so we march on with American cycles of libertarian hatreds that occasionally well up.

We have entered the age of Ku Klux Klan-lite.

Op-Ed Columnist – The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party – NYTimes.com.

Translation of my weekly column  at Alquds Newspaper (Arabic)

By: Aziz Abu Sarah
Tuesday 24th of October

Last week I was surprised when pro-Israel and well-known Jewish politician, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, expressed his support for the construction of the Islamic Center near the wreckage of the World Trade Center’s twin towers. The news of the center continues to draw the negative attention of media outlets, many of which have questioned whether Muslims have the right to build Islamic institutions in the United States.

Moreover, media coverage of the Cordoba Initiative’s plans to build an Islamic community center in Manhattan has been largely inaccurate. Many of the facts have been changed or misreported: the center has been described as a mosque, when in fact it is a community center with a mosque, and the location has been described as Ground Zero, when in reality the center is two blocks away and shares the neighborhood with a strip club and gambling parlor. In addition, the community center intends to open its doors to non-Muslims, and will contain a number of social and recreational activities. The center will have a swimming pool, a gym, a theater, a restaurant, a library, an art gallery and studios, and a memorial to the victims of September 11th. However, misleading reports have created widespread and popular opposition against building the center.

Nor is Bloomberg alone in his support for building the center. Many other Jewish rabbis and leaders across the United States have lent their support to the project. In fact, the support among the Jewish community has been so vociferous that when Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) spoke out against the center, thousands of American Jews responded by signing a petition supporting the Cordoba Initiative’s plans.

The problem is the United States is less than three months away from midterm elections, and many politicians are using the center as a campaign issue. Politicians have used the construction of an Islamic community center near Ground Zero to play on voter fears about Islamic influence in American society, and in doing so have encouraged the spread of false information.
Fortunately, the Cordoba Initiative and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf have handled the subject positively. Despite the political circumstances and approaching elections, they have succeeded in communicating effectively with many American leaders and individuals. The Cordoba Initiative has also mobilized significant support for the center and managed to overcome legal obstacles, which will allow construction to begin soon. Although some are still trying to convince the project managers to change the location of the center, they have been unsuccessful thus far.
It has not been easy for the Cordoba Initiative to attract support for its center from Jewish and Christian leaders. For the past several years, Arab community leaders and Muslim scholars led by men like Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, have been reaching out to the American public through interfaith projects. In addition, they have sponsored joint programs to serve local communities. These efforts have fostered new friendships across the religious divide.

One example is the Adams Mosque near Washington, DC. Last Ramadan, the Adams Mosque was over capacity with worshipers for late-night prayers. Needing extra space, the Imam of the mosque, Majid, approached a local synagogue, who agreed to let the Muslim worshippers use their space. Such experiences are positive examples of how Jewish and Muslim communities have been redefining their relationship.
Many assumed that the Jewish-American community would be the first to cry foul over the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. There is a tendency to view Muslims and Jews as traditional enemies, given the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Increasing dialogue and cooperation, however, is turning these stereotypes on their head. Some Muslims and Jews are even finding common ground for joint projects by building a consensus on sensitive issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, agreeing on the need for a two-state solution as well as the importance of security and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
After 9/11, the American Muslim community was forced to reevaluate its relationship with the American public. The Muslim community suddenly found its loyalty to America questioned, and was accused of being a breeding ground for terrorism. However, many Muslims in the United States refused to play the role of passive victim. They began to search for ways to reach out to American society and challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslims. Though this process has been difficult and is still in infancy, these efforts have met with some success.

The Muslim community has also made a special effort to reach beyond the majority, seeking avenues of communication with other minority groups across the U.S. This is important, as the limitation of freedom for any reason is never isolated to one minority, but often impacts other groups and liberties as well.

Despite facing many challenges in recent years, Muslim communities in the United States have been able to remain part of American society without compromising their Arab or Muslim identity. Ultimately, this experience may provide an important model for Muslim minorities in other Western countries. In addition, their example provides hope that in the future, Muslim Americans can be the bridge between the West and the Muslim world.

Published first at the Jerusalem Post
By Aziz Abu Sarah

There many reasons to be pessimistic and at times to despair about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet even when things look hopeless, hope has a way of appearing, offering a vision of what can be rather than what is. Recently, I caught a glimpse of this hope in an unlikely place – the Israeli health care system.

In December, I went for a routine checkup with my family doctor in east Jerusalem and received the news everyone fears – I had cancer. What had seemed like a small lump in my neck was in fact thyroid cancer – devastating news for someone in his late 20s. I was quickly scheduled for surgery and given a date of May 17.

I immediately called my close friend Dr. Adel Misk, a Palestinian neurologist from east Jerusalem. Misk works in both Israeli and Palestinian hospitals, treating Palestinians and Israelis alike. He referred me to his colleague, Dr. Shila Nagar, a Jewish Israeli endocrinologist.

When Misk referred me to Nagar, he was not thinking in the terms of Palestinians and Israelis, but rather in terms of which specialist could best treat me. He was not concerned about her religious practices or political opinions. He was only concerned about her track record as a doctor.

In the waiting room outside Nagar’s office, I could not help but notice how many Palestinians were there. It did not bother them that she was Jewish, just like Misk’s Jewish patients do not mind that he is Palestinian. All the stereotypes and fences of nationalist fervor were replaced with basic survival instincts.

I SHARED my thoughts about Israeli-Palestinian medical cooperation with Nagar, who told me a story of a Jewish friend of hers who had prostate problems. One night he was suffering from a painful blockage and went to the emergency room. The doctor on duty was an Arab woman. He was not pleased: It is doubly bad, he thought, an Arab and a woman. At first he refused to let her treat him; however, as the pain increased he changed his mind and called her in. Years later, this Arab woman is his permanent doctor and a close friend. This personal experience was Nagar’s example of how humanity (and physical necessity!) can overcome nationalism.

Fast forward to the day of my surgery. In an ironic twist of fate, here I was, a Palestinian journalist, draped in a hospital gown covered in Stars of David. I was stressed and fearful. Yet none of these emotions had to do with the nationality of my doctors or the pattern on my hospital gown. I was afraid of the surgery, and the possibility of not waking up again. However, when I was brought to the operating room, I was again given another dose of hope.

I had two surgeons, a Palestinian Arab and an Israeli Jew. The anesthesiologist was an extremely experienced and competent Russian who joked with me until I fell asleep. My life was in the hands of an ideal team.

Meanwhile, my family waited outside. My wife and mother were both in tears, and later told me that a Jewish woman waiting for news of her relative’s surgery comforted them.

In the midst of the hatred, anger and bitterness of the conflict, you can still find glimpses of goodness. Unfortunately, this light often passes unnoticed. Yet it offers a practical example of the dream we all share, of a future where we can live safe and full lives without fear of injury.

My surgery went extremely well, and I recovered quickly. Moreover, through this painful experience I caught a glimmer of hope in what seems like a hopeless environment. I have many criticisms of Israeli policies and politics, but the functioning universal health care system in Israel and its ability to separate politics from medicine earns my praise.

This is not to say that the system is perfect. Like any future Israel and Palestine might share, there is the possibility of getting distracted by issues of insurance and bureaucracy. However, when it matters most, Israeli and Palestinian doctors share a commitment to human life regardless of ethnicity, religion or nationality. Moreover, when it comes time to choose doctors, we base our choice on who is mostly likely to promote human life. If only we voted on the same basis!

Unfortunately, I had to experience the health care system personally before being able to appreciate this example of what Israelis and Palestinians can achieve. Despite the pain and suffering, I am grateful to have discovered such a hidden treasure of humanity at its best.

Folks, I published this with Common Ground News Service. Here is a version of it from the Bali Times.

A Practical Path to Justice and an Independent PalestineAugust 16, 2010

By Rabbi Marc Gopin

The creation of an independent Palestine has been a dream dashed many times, but there may be a practical path forward emerging from a surprising place. I often heard the phrase “business is business” growing up in the 1960s among gritty American Jewish immigrants; my father said it all the time. It reflected old Jewish instincts to do whatever it takes to survive and feed “the family,” even when it meant dealing with people who disliked you – a lot.

What floored me is when my Palestinian partner, Aziz Abu Sarah, with whom I recently founded MEJDI, a social enterprise (business designed for a social goal), told me exactly the same words from his father! Aziz’s family and mine are not involved in our new business venture, but every innovation has implications for the political situation in Palestine, and we seek advice and reactions. I have been shocked by the positive reception in my right wing family to the idea of honest business as a bridge. And every time I asked Aziz, “Are you sure your family is ok with Jews and Arabs doing business given their terrible troubles? They know how Jewish I am?” The answer came, “Business is business.”

I feel very much at home with people who love their families, who see the virtue of work, who when facing an unjust situation recognise that practical and ethical people sometimes prevail. Sometimes honest work eases the way to a sane political vision that overwhelms self-destructive patterns of enemy systems and wounded peoples.

There is a lot of good news on the business front. There is a Palestinian prime minister, increasingly popular, who is revolutionising the infrastructure of Palestine, preparing for prosperity and statehood. Saudi Arabia, the most conservative state in the region, has just announced a US$400-million project for Ramallah. Many Western countries are pouring in huge funds for the private sector.

Will these investments benefit most Palestinians? We are all haunted by “the last time,” by the Oslo years of large funds – and large corruption. But thankfully a recent economic conference in Palestine, which included an American presidential delegation headed by Senator George Mitchell, slated $950 million for small- and medium-sized businesses.

My partners and I at MEJDI want more, however. We argue that more is needed to place justice at the centre of Palestine’s future, and to discourage an investor tendency to make a few wealthy and most miserable. All the incoming funds are good but we should explicitly support socially responsible business in Palestine.

Although there is no ultimate solution for Palestine without an end to the Occupation, small businesses are needed to form the backbone of a viable state. Small businesses generate a middle class that depends on the rule of law and democratic values, whereas countries supported only through large corporations and government control rarely emerge as democracies. Palestinians deserve a democracy at the end of their long struggle.

Here is an example of what we are doing as a social enterprise. We are pioneering both tours and academic seminars where almost every dollar spent is going to support and patronize businesses with a clear reputation for fair wages. Profits are also re-invested in lecturers and tour guides who are well known activists for positive social change.

This is just one example of the intersection of small business empowerment and social change. Our other major innovation is the distribution in the West of products made by poor but innovative Palestinian small businesses paying only fair wages. I have learned after 27 years of peace activism that ignoring inequality and poverty is disastrous and it violates every tenet of the region’s religious traditions and values. The un-sustainability of the average Palestinian family makes old ways of coexistence work inadequate. Serious attention to fair wages, however, and financial support for Palestine’s social change activists help engender support for Palestine’s nascent non-violent struggle.

Generations, even centuries, of Muslims and Jews, built mutually prosperous and equal relationships; we are merely recovering their legacy. There have been many times of misery in the long history of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim relationship, but there were also many good times, golden ages. Honest business based on good wages and equal relationships may be one glue that has bonded Middle Eastern cultures before, and may help make inevitable the political path forward towards a just and equal two-state solution.

Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin, author of To Make the Earth Whole, is a principal of MEJDI LLC (www.mejdi.net).

via A Practical Path to Justice and an Independent Palestine.

I will consider this helpful someday when the article indicates that the Chief Rabbis coordinated their visit with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian mayors of Jericho and Nablus. Then such a visit will be a helpful indicator of respect, mutual recognition, and cooperation. Otherwise it is just improved security for a better occupation, and is not contributing to a safe and just solution. Rabbi Froman, by contrast, always when he enters an Arab city, even with historic Jewish roots, always comes with respect for the occupants, especially the Muslim occupants. That is why his way is a way of courage.

Chief rabbis in rare visit to holy sites in Nablus, Jericho

By JONAH MANDEL

08/20/2010 03:00

First visits by high-ranking Israeli delegation in 10 years.

Talkbacks (4)

Israel’s Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar conducted an unprecedented visit to Jewish holy sites in Nablus and Jericho on Thursday, ahead of the High Holy Days.

For the first time in 10 years, a high-ranking Israeli delegation came in broad daylight to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus and the ancient Shalom Al Israel synagogue in Jericho.

The visit, the first of its kind since the IDF pulled out of Nablus and Jericho, was said to be the result of an ongoing dialogue between Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites Shmuel Rabinovitch and the head of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria Brig.- Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who organized the tour. OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi and Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig.- Gen. Nitzan Alon also participated.

The rabbis prayed at the sites and were briefed by Mizrahi on the arrangements under which Jews can pray there. Both sites are in Area A and hence under Palestinian security responsibility.

The IDF cited the visit as another example of the improving security situation in Judea and Samaria, which can be credited, among other factors, to confidence-building measures led by the military, and the tightening of ties between the IDF and Palestinian security forces.

Metzger used the opportunity to speak out strongly against the phenomenon of clandestine nocturnal infiltrations into the Joseph’s Tomb complex.

Since the site was taken over by Palestinians in 2000, Jewish worshipers have been barred from entering during the day.

As of November 2007, monthly nighttime visits, coordinated with and secured by the IDF, enable busloads of Jewish worshipers to access the tomb.

via Chief rabbis in rare visit to holy sites in Nablus, Jericho.

Jeffrey Goldberg writes a simple and devastating piece on Imam Rauf. Here is the man vilified by the neoconservative and right wing mob in the United States.

You can read the full text of his remarks on the B’nai Jeshurun website, but here is an especially relevant portion:

We are here to assert the Islamic conviction of the moral equivalency of our Abrahamic faiths. If to be a Jew means to say with all one’s heart, mind and soul Shma` Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Ahad; hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One, not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one, Mr. Pearl.

If to be a Christian is to love the Lord our God with all of my heart, mind and soul, and to love for my fellow human being what I love for myself, then not only am I a Christian, but I have always been one Mr. Pearl.

And I am here to inform you, with the full authority of the Quranic texts and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad, that to say La ilaha illallah Muhammadun rasulullah is no different.

It expresses the same theological and ethical principles and values

‘Ground Zero’ Imam: ‘I Am a Jew, I Have Always Been One’ – Politics – The Atlantic.